2009-04-09

Welcome to the halfway point of the Corner Gas top ten countdown. I see that Wikipedia has now input the description for the final episode to air next Monday:

You've Been Great, Goodnight:Brent's mysterious disappearances every Wednesday night have the whole town talking. When it is discovered he has been pursuing a lifelong dream, everyone is forced to cope with the news.

Now let's get back to the countdown, shall we?

#5: Telescope TroubleIf a man dies in an RV, you should get a discount for it. So goes Oscar's reasoning, but Emma intervenes, and the Leroys are now RVers. So with southern Saskatchewan as a starting point, where will they go? The Rocky Mountains? The Great Lakes? Their son's gas station less than a 5 minute drive from home? Um, you guessed it, that last one. This is one of those episodes that has a great opening ("It's coffee flavour for your coffee." "But coffee already tastes like coffee. Like, a lot.") with a good half dozen laughs and then won't let it go. Anyways back to the aforementioned plot, Oscar and Emma discover that the RV is just too much for them... but camping in front of Corner Gas is too much for Brent. Lacey doesn't even let them start, but Karen and Davis are willing to give it a go. Davis's 15th Kumbaya round:a) reminds me of camping with my old manb) convinces the Leroys to pack their bags and keep on goingThis episode is just getting started though: Brent's door is busted, so he gets Lacey's door guy to fix it which emasculates Brent and saddens Hank. Lacey has trouble understanding all this, which eventually leads to her door guy abandoning her. There's a ton of killer scenes in this episode: the RV/tree gag, everybody's trouble understanding Copernicus, Lacey and Hank on the deck, and the garage scene where Wanda catches Brent using her telescope. Ohhh, the telescope: I haven't even got to the best bit. Wanda needs to protect her telescope from her kid (so it goes to Corner Gas), and Hank (so it goes to the police station), and Davis (so it goes to Brent's garage). Why was Wanda worried about Hank? In one of the best scene's in the series, we see how Hank broke Wanda's car window (I just watched it now and re-laughed again). In addition, this episode gives us some of the great Corner Gas slang: "bum of the mind", "greasy commerce wheel", "Big Daddy Government", "respect crumbs", "a rugged delicate flower", "whipped by a warranty", and "shielded by the power of my intense disinterest". This one was just classic, no matter how you look at it.Honourable Mention: Mail FraudIn the spirit of Corner Gas slang, we now present the episode which features the greatest of all Corner Gas slang (maybe not counting "Impractical Serious" from the episode "Outside Joke"). "Mail Fraud" is the episode that shows Brent's infamous "Staycation". The word has really taken off, and this episode is the one that did it. Oscar's email plot is really good, especially the Davis intimidation scene. The staycation scenes are very enjoyable, with Brent's postcards to Lacey and Hank's confusion over the arranging of nations sticking out. The Davis/Karen potluck story was a bit of a downer, but its forgiven.#103: One Piano, Four HandsKaren has horrific childhood memories of signing a cast. Some of her excuses are a bit funny, but mostly pretty weak. The "hyper-lame" kid's mullet was good. Oscar and Brent fight over an airpump. Brent and Oscar remember the same scene slightly differently: this episode is spared further degrading by Oscar's memory involving him being flanked by 4 Roughrider cheerleaders (sexy bare midriffs always help). Hank helps Lacey's broken arm by coaching her in the A's of injuries. Unfortunately for Hank, Lacey's "avoidance" stage isn't as debilitating as he remembers, and his years of experience are neglected. Well, we're ignoring the worst storyline: Davis and Wanda both get piano lessons from Emma. It involves a lot of Emma's pointless bickering, Wanda's whining, and Davis walking around looking smug. Brent's counselling her about "maybe he's better at piano" was the bright side of this storyline (and the revelation that Hot Cross Buns and Three Blind Mice are the same tune). Wanda's reaction to the Hank truck accident also helps this episode be almost not unwatchable.

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